It’s the home stretch before the 2026 World Cup kicks off. Before the final tests at the beginning of June, the France team gave itself a little taste of its American adventure with two friendly matches in the United States. And before taking on Colombia, the Blues played a gala match against Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil. A poster that will bring back some memories of 1998 or 2006 for the more nostalgic. For this prestigious meeting in Foxborough, in the suburbs of Boston, Didier Deschamps chose to line up a team in a very offensive 4-2-3-1 with the Rabiot-TchouamĂ©ni duo in the midfield and the Ekitike-DembĂ©lĂ©-Olise trident to support MbappĂ© up front. A daring tactical choice from a coach who often preferred to have a more strengthened midfielder. For his part, Ancelotti aligned a 4-2-4 with the main novelty of his choice to test Vinicius Jr in the center, with Raphinha, Cunha and Martinelli at his side.
In a Gillette Stadium acquired from the Brazilians, the Blues quickly brought the decibels down. In an unprecedented configuration, Didier Deschamps’ men immediately took control of the leather, Brazil having decided to play in a low block to hope to do harm on a counter flash from Raphinha or Vinicius Jr. The French also had some difficulty managing depth and this is what happened in the 5th minute. On a free kick, Raphinha was forgotten by the French defense, but fortunately for the Blues, his shot was off target. The Barça player was one of the most active Auriverdes, but it was France who dominated. Up front, we were waiting to see how the MbappĂ©-DembĂ©lĂ©-Olise-Ekitike quartet would work together. During the first twenty minutes, Ekitike often moved into the middle. Strong in duels and technically clean, the Liverpool striker was a formidable anchor point. MbappĂ© took his favorite left side and showed off his legs, as if his knee problem had disappeared. Olise played in a free electron position, sometimes in the axis, sometimes on the right, while DembĂ©lĂ© played in a much more remote central position. A positioning which made the 2025 Ballon d’Or more discreet at the start of the match.
Effective Blues
The Tricolores held the ball, but stumbled against the Brazilian low block. It’s not easy to create danger in these conditions. We had to wait for the cool-down break to return in the 22nd minute to shiver a little. And if Martinelli thought he delivered his team with a curling shot (27th), it was MbappĂ© who planted the first banner. Perfectly launched in depth by a caviar from the left of DembĂ©lĂ©, the Real Madrid scorer went to beat Ederson with a magnificent dive ball (0-1, 32nd). The Merengue were only one goal away from Olivier Giroud’s record. The Bondynois thought he could equalize ten minutes before the break, but his curling shot was off target (35th). At the break, France logically led the score. Upon returning from the locker room, Raphinha gave way to Luiz Henrique. A rather good entry into play since the Zenit Saint Petersburg player immediately set fire to his right side, forcing Maignan to pull out all the stops with a powerful curling shot (50th). Annoyed by Raphinha, ThĂ©o Hernandez took the water against the former resident of Botafogo.
The Brazilian right side did very badly at the start of the second period and this time, it was Upamecano who was caught. Guilty of a foul on Wesley in the position of last defender, the Bayern Munich defender was sent directly to the locker room shortly before the hour mark (55th). Ten complicated minutes after which Deschamps tried to restore some order by bringing in Lacroix (first selection) and KantĂ© in place of Tchouameni and DembĂ©lĂ©, who came out grimacing. That didn’t stop the Brazilians from keeping the Tricolores under pressure, but tonight France proved that they remained the more effective team. Cornered, the Blues took advantage of a counterattack from Olise to see Ekitike imitate MbappĂ© by beating Ederson with a dive too (0-2, 65th). The scenario was cruel for a much more enterprising Seleção. Affected, Brazil threw its last strength into the battle to hope to bring down a numerically inferior French team. And it was Bremer who gave hope to the Auriverdes by taking advantage of a free kick and a poorly returned shot from the omnipresent Luiz Henrique to deceive Maignan (1-2, 78th). Enough to give us a tense end to the match like this outside Bremer passing very close to Maignan’s goal on a cross from Luiz Henrique (90th). The seven minutes of additional time announced added tension, but the Blues managed to hold on. Thanks to this prestigious success (2-1), France equalizes with six victories everywhere in its face-to-face meetings with the Seleção. See you in three days for the match against Colombia.
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